Indian’s Bagger Is Ready for Action
If you were excited by the fact that Indian has a new engine and a new fixed fairing bagger model, then you’ll be even more pumped to learn that the company has just released the model.
The bike is now up on the Indian website, and you can see all that the bike is. It looks pretty awesome and should have good performance due to the new engine. Indian gave the Challenger its new 1,769cc twin that makes 122 horsepower and 131 lb-ft of torque.
That engine is mated to a six-speed manual transmission with a wet-clutch. The bike also gets cast wheels, Metzeler Cruisetec tires, a 43-mm inverted fork with 5.1 inches of travel at the front, and a Fox single shock at the rear with 4.5 inches of travel.
Two 320mm floating discs and Brembo calipers up front and a single 298mm disc with a two-piston caliper provide stopping power. The bike also gets ABS as standard equipment. Behind the massive fixed fairing is a 7-inch touchscreen that gives you access to everything, including ride modes and smartphone connectivity. There’s also adjustable air vents, a power-operated windscreen, and cruise control.
There are three trim levels: Challenger, Challenger Dark Horse, and Challenger Limited. The basic bike is pretty stripped down, whereas the Limited is fully decked out with things like Smart Lean Technology (a special traction control, a unique drag torque control system, a Bosch IMU to help provide more control in corners. The price starts at $21,999 for the base Challenger. The Dark Horse costs $27,499 and the Limited comes in at $27,999.
Cool, I test rode a Cheiftan dark horse last year at Sturgis, I was brilliantly impressed by it. Can wait to see how this compares.
You and I both, Graham. I think it’ll be very good. Looking forward to it.
So I am thinking HD is getting another big (Indian) kick in the butt. For the same price you get all the bells and whistles that Harley has never put on their models, along with liquid cooling, real suspension, a seat you can sit on for more than 30 minutes, and so on. Harley better get with it.